Fields Of Gold
by Bookwrm389
Summary: "I never made promises lightly, and there have been some that I've broken. But I swear, in the days still left, we will walk in fields of gold." Songfic, Royai. Manga-based.


_A.N. Just a quick thing I whipped up after rediscovering this song on the radio. I'll admit straight up that this is probably OOC, but this song is amazing and practically the embodiment of Royai, and I wanted to write something to show that. That, and I wanted to bring out the softer side of Riza's personality from before she became a soldier. I am of the firm opinion that it still exists underneath her stern mask._

_Warnings for implied amorous scenes! I don't know what's up with me and the romance stuff lately. I think I'm still in a mild state of shock from when the manga ended with NO ROYAI! At least, nothing as concrete as a family picture. Dang it, Arakawa!  
_

Fields Of Gold

_Many years have passed  
Since those summer days  
Among the fields of barley_

_See the children run  
As the sun goes down  
Among the fields of gold_

Her father's house was in incredible disrepair after years of neglect. Exterior paint that had already been peeling was now almost entirely scoured away and several shingles had gone missing from the roof. Broken glass littered the porch where someone had shattered the window. Possibly the neighborhood kids exploring. Riza would have felt guilty except that there was nothing in that place that either her or her father had considered valuable. In fact, a great deal of its current state was due to its previous occupant's penchant for putting his research before everything else, and there was only so much one young girl—and later, two teenagers—could do about it.

"Whoa, it's _huge!_"

She glanced over the roof of the car only to see both the Elric brothers leap from the backseat and bound off. They bypassed the decrepit residence completely and sprinted into the grassy fields beyond, shouting and laughing all the way. And Riza had to smile at their exuberance because it had been awhile since those boys had paid a visit to their rural hometown. They must have missed all that open space.

She took the steps up to the veranda and circled the house slowly, fingertips tracing the worn stone, rediscovering her childhood home's attributes and secrets as she listened to the brothers' voices grow more distant. Riza wasn't worried. Even if they ran for miles and miles, they wouldn't reach the property line. Her father had purchased all that farmland and the house with it for the sole purpose of keeping all the "nitwits and hooligans" at a safe distance. The town was not far, she could see it just on the horizon, but it seemed a world apart with all those swaying golden stalks between here and there.

As a child, she had loved it. Being so far removed from everyone else had allowed Riza to avoid most of the townsfolk who thought her gruff father strange enough without meeting his reticent, soft-spoken daughter. It had been lonely, yes, but at the time it had been exactly what she wanted.

At least until...

A heavier pair of booted feet approached from behind, and two white-gloved hands brace against the porch railing beside hers. She didn't look, but Riza could tell their owner was also gazing on the endless tracts of land. He breathed in deeply...and sneezed. "Smells like cows," he complained.

"Fertilizer," Riza corrected him. "You always used to say that, every time you came for tutoring. Remember?"

There was a definite grin in his voice when Roy answered. "Yeah...I remember."

And she remembered too.

_You'll remember me  
When the west wind moves  
Upon the fields of barley_

_You'll forget the sun  
In his jealous sky  
As we walk in fields of gold_

"Ow, _ow!_ Damn it!"

Riza looked over quickly and felt only exasperation at the sight of her father's gangly apprentice sitting in the dirt and nursing a split blister. He threw aside the axe in a fit of temper and then kicked a few piles of wood for good measure. "This _sucks!_ Why's he making me chop firewood in the middle of freaking summer? I'm boiling alive here! _Boiling!_"

Riza turned attention back to the shirts flapping on the clothesline, not an ounce of pity in her heart. He wasn't the only one with work to do. And really, she had to wonder when on earth she had starting doing laundry for three instead of two. It wasn't like Roy lived with them permanently. He never stayed longer than a few days at a time—though Riza suspected he would have if her father didn't routinely chase him out the door and chide him for abandoning his foster mother in the city. Yet somehow his possessions had slowly begun to accumulate. Clothes on the line, a comb and toothbrush in the bathroom, blankets on the couch in the den...and it had been pure habit that made her start picking up after the apprentice as well as his master.

A habit that she was seriously considering breaking now, she thought vindictively when Roy abandoned his task and flopped down in the shade of the house. Riza mopped a bead of moisture from her temple and hefted the basket on her hip. "Aren't you going to finish that?"

He flapped his hand lazily, wincing when he remembered the blister. "I'm taking a break. But seriously, do you have any idea why Master Hawkeye's making me do this?"

"Perhaps to teach you the value of hard work."

Roy scoffed, proclaiming quite clearly what he thought of _that _idea. He crossed his arms, shooting the pile of wood an evil glare. "There's got to be some kind of hidden lesson in it," he muttered. "Like a metaphor or something. Or...or maybe he wants me to burn it all to prove how much I've learned about flame alchemy!"

"I doubt it," Riza replied. "One spark and all this dry grass will go up like paper, and our house with it."

"Then why...?"

"Do you want to know the reason?"

"_Yes!_"

Without ado, she bonked him on the head with her basket. "The reason is...we need firewood for the winter. That's all."

Roy nursed his head with a pathetic whine. "That doesn't make _sense_. I just don't get how this has anything to do with learning alchemy!"

"It has _everything _to do with it," Riza said loftily, earning a startled look. She sighed. "Have you considered that this is how you're paying for your alchemy lessons? My father would be well within his rights to charge you or refuse to teach you outright, but he doesn't. He's allowing you to pay him back for his time and effort with manual labor. _Now _does it make sense?"

His eyes widened at the revelation and, satisfied with the reaction, Riza turned on her heel and marched toward the backdoor. Never in her life had she met someone who annoyed her so much. Except that _annoy_ wasn't quite the right word, but it was close enough. Riza tended to be reserved to the point of muteness around other people, but something about this dark-haired boy compelled her to speak up more if only to pop a hole in that ego once in awhile.

And strangely, she liked the changes Roy wrought in her without even trying. It made her want to be around him more...and it made the times when he was gone nearly unbearable.

"...but I _offered_ to pay him."

The quiet words stopped her in her tracks. "You...what?"

Roy shrugged, brow furrowed in consternation. "My foster mother would have paid for the lessons. I asked him about it, but he just kept brushing it aside. I never understood why, especially when..."

"Especially when what?"

"When you both live like _this_," Roy snapped, gesturing at the rundown house. "He doesn't even _try_ to get grants for his research even when I'm sure he could use the money to purchase a better house or...or even send you to a decent school..."

Riza drew herself up, indignant. "There is nothing lacking about my education, Roy Mustang!"

"No, I didn't mean to imply there was!" Roy said hastily. "But...but don't you ever think of what you're going to do when you come of age? Or are you just going to stay here and live in this house for the rest of your life?"

That...was a question she had never really thought about. One that made her very uncomfortable to even consider. Logically, Riza knew she couldn't stay with her father forever. She was practically an adult already. At her age, other girls were already talking about getting married or entering into an apprenticeship or a dozen other things that would eventually shape their futures. But Riza's future always remained indefinite, unclear. She didn't _know _what she would do, what purpose she wanted to serve in the greater world.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Roy said when she didn't answer right away.

"No, I'm not upset," Riza said quietly. She leaned against the house beside him. "I suppose I just haven't yet decided what I want my future to be. But I suppose you have _your_ future set in stone, right?"

He bowed his head. "Yeah...I guess you could say that."

She continued to watch him long after Roy had looked away, and eventually he caved under her inquiring gaze. "I'm going to join the military," he admitted. "I've already signed my name up and my training starts in a few days. You realize what that means, don't you?"

"...you're leaving," Riza said, bowled over by the revelation. "You're leaving and you won't be back."

"Oh, I'll be back," Roy said smartly. "Just as soon as your father decides to quit holding me back and let me learn beyond the basics. Although I expect it to be much harder once he finds out what path I've decided to take."

That was no understatement. Her father hated the military, and especially despised the alchemists who chose to serve it. Riza could only imagine his reaction. He would gladly turn Roy out the door and bid him never return.

Roy yawned hugely and stretched his arms high above his head, ruffling his sweat-damped hair. "Well, I haven't left yet. Until I do, I can enjoy the time I have here."

"By that, I hope you mean you'll work extra hard to finish your chores before you go," Riza said drably, indicating the woodpile. It was much easier to lecture him than to swallow her pride and admit that she would miss him. It was frightening, the thought of Roy leaving for good, and she was unprepared for just how upset it made her.

"Aw, give me a break," Roy whined at her. "I've been working all morning. And so have you! You're always moving around, always doing something. Why can't you just _sit _for awhile?"

"I don't have time for that. I have work to do."

"Work that you can just as easily finish later."

"_Roy..._"

"_Riza..._"

Ignoring his sneaky grin, Riza once again made for the backdoor, muttering under her breath about procrastinators. She only made it five steps before footsteps rushed up behind her, and she shrieked when Roy upended the soapy laundry water over her head. The basket of clean clothes went flying as she whirled around and chased him out into the fields, all thoughts of work forgotten. His laughter and sparkling eyes taunted her and beckoned her onward even as the grass stalks lashed her ankles and the sun beat down on her shoulders mercilessly. Her hairclip was the first casualty when it came loose and was swallowed up by the gilded ocean, allowing her drenched hair to tumble around her shoulders. Riza silently swore to chop it all off just as soon as she _killed _that idiot.

"_Get BACK here!_"

"_Make me!_"

But his reply was hoarse, winded. He was far too scholarly for his own good, always cooped up and reading when he should have been exercising. In no time at all she caught up and tackled him. Roy cried out wildly when the maneuver brought them both crashing to the ground where they both stayed, panting for air. The barley bowed low above their heads, sheltering them from all eyes save the solitary one in the sky. Riza shut her eyes as she pressed her cheek against his spine, listening to his racing heart. She knew she should move, but his back was surprisingly comfortable, if a little sticky from all the sweating he had done while chopping.

Roy shifted, craning around to look at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Riza murmured and looked up in time to see his hand outstretched toward her. This close she could see the faint worry line on his forehead slowly clearing and the way the bright sun made his eyes look so much darker. Roy picked straw from her hair, and she couldn't tell if the sudden tremor in his hand was due to exertion or nervousness.

"We should head back..."

He faltered when her arms tightened around him, and Riza shook her head without once looking away. "No. Let's stay awhile."

"Your father will wonder..."

"My father's not here."

Roy's expression remained apprehensive, but his hands told a different story when they encircled her waist and coaxed her closer. "But I'm leaving," he whispered as a final, feeble resistance.

She locked her arms around his neck, eyes sliding shut hazily when their lips met. "All the more reason."

The soil was hot against her back, but he was hotter still as he leaned over her and his kisses became firmer, his touches bolder. Riza stroked the curve of his spine under his shirt, lips turning upward in a smile. She didn't know if it was because he was her first real friend or if she should blame it on lust and the heat or if it was simply _him_. But she wanted this, here and now, and even if she never saw him again she would always remember.

Always.

_So she took her love  
For to gaze awhile  
Upon the fields of barley_

_In his arms, she fell  
As her hair came down  
Among the fields of gold_

"I'm glad you grew it out again," Roy said quietly. He was far too discreet to say anything more about what happened the day she cut her hair. Riza leaned against the railing and let her eyes wander to the horizon, thinking of how much hotter the sun had seemed back when they were both wrapped in the stifling fog of adolescent hormones. Back when the only things they had to worry about were irate alchemy masters and an endless list of chores and a future that seemed so far away. Life had been so simple.

She had never imagined all the things the future held in store for her. And for Roy. She had never imagined that, after all these years, she would still be at his side.

And even after all that had happened, all the trials they had been through, Riza didn't regret a single moment.

"I've thought about cutting it all off again," Riza remarked, not missing the exaggerated moan of horror. "But it took so long to grow out in the first place. It would be a waste."

"Just as wasteful as chopping firewood in the summer," Roy muttered resentfully, nodding at the tarp-covered pile at the side of the house. "Look at that, he didn't even use it! I ought to burn that pile right down to cinders like I wanted to in the first place."

"Only if you can manage to do so without setting fire to the house, sir."

"Oh _ho_, underestimating my skill, are we? Just watch—"

"_Heeey!_"

They fell silent and Roy lowered his hand quickly when they saw the two boys return from the fields. Ed waved his arm high as he jogged up to the house with Al right on his heels. "So can we see the study now, Lieutenant?"

Riza produced a key to open the door for the brothers. "Just be careful. No one's been inside in quite some time. You can have whichever books you want and the rest we'll donate to the State library."

"But what if your father's research is in one of those books?" Al asked in concern, looking between the soldiers. "Shouldn't you go through them first to be sure?"

She shook her head, smiling fondly at his naivety. "Trust me, my father's private research is not in there."

"Al, come _on!_" Ed yelled as he dashed through the kitchen. "Now's our chance to see the books that bastard colonel learned alchemy from!"

"Coming!"

The door clapped shut behind Al, but the boys were still clearly audible as they trekked up the stairs. Riza could tell they had found the study when exclamations of surprise and delight wafted down from the upper floor. Then those, too, died away as pages were rustled and a studious silence fell over the property. Roy chuckled as he stepped off the porch and surveyed the fields with a thoughtful look. A warm wind drifted in from the west, making gentle waves in the golden grass and carrying with it the familiar, earthy scent from her childhood.

"Sir?"

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Roy said almost casually. "I spent so much time here when I was learning alchemy, but I hardly remember it at all. I kind of want to look around some."

And he turned to her, hand held out and eyes shining with the same light from all those years ago. "Care to join me, Lieutenant?"

Riza looked from his hand to the house, appalled when she realized what he was actually suggesting. "But...but Ed and Al!"

"They'll be at those books for hours. If he could, I'm certain Fullmetal would spend a week in there trying to uncover my secrets."

"But someone could _see_."

"There's no one else here."

"_Roy..._"

"_Riza..._"

She dithered, wanting to say no and berate him for his reckless, inappropriate manner. Wanting to say yes and run with him into the barley just like when they were teenagers. And the way he was looking at her now, as if there was no way she could ever refuse him, was not helping matters in the slightest.

"You know," Roy said quietly, "there's a chance that once we leave, we'll never come back here again."

...damn the man. Even after all this time, he could still annoy her.

They didn't run. She took his hand and they proceeded into the fields at a respectable speed far more befitting of their ranks and ages, shoulder to shoulder. At least until they were out of sight of the house and Roy felt they had enough privacy for him to loop his arm around her and nuzzle her neck. "I always regretted leaving you," he murmured in her ear.

Riza only wrapped her arms around him, smiling, overwhelmed by such a feeling of happiness that she could barely voice her reply. "I caught up to you eventually."

"Yes," Roy breathed as he pulled her down and pressed her to the soil. "You did."

_Will you stay with me?  
Will you be my love?  
Among the fields of barley_

_We'll forget the sun  
In his jealous sky  
As we lie in fields of gold_

_

* * *

_

_A.N. Some of you may be wondering about the tattoo on Riza's back and "wouldn't she have it when they were teenagers and wouldn't Roy have seen it?" The answer is no. Her father didn't complete his research on flame alchemy until after Roy abandoned his apprenticeship to join the military. Riza would have gotten the tattoo sometime after that._


End file.
